Tonight on 20/20 ` overseas, they've been making big bucks on YouTube. Nek minnit... Could you be doing the same here? I probably get, like, 100 new subscribers a day. 27,000 subscribers. 3.5 million views. We meet some Kiwis uploading to YouTube and transferring money to their bank accounts. What advice would you give if they say, 'I wanna be a billionaire one day?' You don't need Powerball to make millions. Successful people do all the things unsuccessful people don't want to do. Three self-made billionaires... We were raised to give back to the world. ...teach you the secrets to their success. So it's basically live or die in LA. Tonight, 20/20 is all about the money. Captions by Toni Tippett and Faith Hamblyn. Captions were made possible with funding from NZ On Air. Copyright TVNZ Access Services 2012 Kia ora. I'm Sonya Wilson. Remember the days before YouTube? What did we do with our time? Nowadays, many of us check into YouTube daily, if not hourly, but there are some people out there who are doing a lot more than just watching funny videos ` they are making money, and heaps of it. The figures in America are huge, but NZers are now eligible to join a programme that means we too can cash in on our uploads. Standby to take some notes ` here's Erin Conroy with three Kiwis making money off the Tube. THE NAKED AND FAMOUS YouTube ` we all know it, we often watch videos on it, sometimes even upload clips to it. Nek minnit... This is my face of the day. It's just seven years since it started, and no one could have predicted how big YouTube would become. CHICKEN CLUCKS 60 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every single minute ` that's five months every hour, 10 years each day. Worldwide, YouTube users watch the equivalent of 340,000 years worth of video per month. Those numbers are hard to comprehend, but numbers making a lot of sense are the increasing bank balances of YouTubers ` profits from their uploads. Is this real life? Hopefully it'll be enough to pay for their college. It's keeping them in private school right now. Hundreds of thousands of dollars are being earned in the US and UK. MAN: Ad revenue from YouTube and TV commercials... Charlie! ...has brought them almost $500,000. But what about all the way over here in NZ? Are we even getting close to that? No. (LAUGHS) Not yet, no. But at some point it's gonna happen. (LAUGHS) It's going pretty well, nothing like that, though. Yeah, it's like data is the new oil. It's kind of grown. Like, the internet and... just, yeah, it's becoming so big. 'Data is the new oil.' 'Data is the new oil.' Yep. 'Data is the new oil.' Yep. I like it. DELOREAN 'BIG DIPPER' And in this new YouTube era, the data moguls are those with a successful YouTube channel. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hey, there. They regularly upload videos and attract subscribers. Thanks to the millions of you who come back... And now those with enough video hits and subscribers are being invited into a partnership programme. You know the little ads that pop up on a video? If you're in the partnership programme, every click gets you 60% of that ad revenue. Holy crap. # Mama... # SCRATCHING NZers have only been eligible to join the programme for just over a year, and although they might not be earning six figures just yet, as their number of subscribers creeps up, so too does their monthly pay cheque. I'm gonna do one of my chit-chat getting-ready videos. I don't even know how it happened. This is Shannon Harris from Palmerston North, or Shaaanxo, as she's know online. She's just 19, and already YouTube's happened for her. I probably get a hundred new subscribers a day. It's her make-up demonstrations that have propelled her into the top spot in YouTube's 'guru' category in NZ. It's 30,000 people, but I don't really think of it like that. I kind of feel like there's only, like, 50 people watching me. But, like, my videos get, like, 10,000 views in three days, and I'm, like, 'Where is it coming from?' And this is what they're watching ` Shannon, what kind of look are we going for today? I'm going to start experimenting with my naked pallet. I'm going to start experimenting with my naked pallet. Excellent. Look forward to it. ...demonstrations done just in her bedroom. How many products do you reckon you use in a single look? Tons and tons. Like, 10, 15 different products. If you had one tip to give to people about make-up, what would it be? Wear whatever you want. Don't listen to make-up rules ` use as much or as little make-up as you want. Make your self feel good. Make yourself feel good ` excellent tip. So, are you a trained make-up artist? So, are you a trained make-up artist? No. Not at all? Not at all? No. I've never been taught. Do you love it, though? Do you love it, though? Yeah. I love make-up. I've loved make-up forever. I can't remember not loving it, even when I was, like, 5. (LAUGHS) PITBULL'S 'GIVE ME EVERYTHING' PITBULL'S 'GIVE ME EVERYTHING' # Give me everything tonight... # This is where most of her profits get spent ` That one is amazing. ...re-stocking for the next video... This one's pretty. ...that often feature best-friend Kelly. Kelly was in a shop, and there were these girls, like, 'Oh my god, it's Kelly from Shannon's videos'. I wasn't even with her. I wasn't even with her. Oh my God, you're like the Kardashians of Palmerston North. So weird. # Lying next to me... Hoping to tap into some of Shannon's star power is one of her YouTube subscribers. When I'm performing on stage, I really need, you know, that boost of confidence. Christchurch singer Shayna King is launching her music career. How did you come across Shannon? Um, well, because she's getting quite well known on YouTube. So she was often on the front page. Shayna uses Shannon's demos before her performances. Feeling good, feeling good about the way you look is really important. Um, you know, it gives you that confidence to be able to put on a good show and, um,... and sing your heart out. # Broken hearts stay. # It's just awesome. It's like... It just makes everything worth it. Like, all the time and effort putting into that ` like the videos and everything ` it's just amazing. So, have you made a million bucks yet? So, have you made a million bucks yet? No. How about 10,000? How about 10,000? No. How about 10,000? No. A thousand? Yeah, definitely a thousand. It takes a while to earn a thousand bucks working in the kitchen of the local RSA, but that's what 16-year-old Corey's been doing as a after-school job to get a bit of pocket money. How much are you earning from your YouTube channel? > How much are you earning from your YouTube channel? > Around or just below $1000. A month? A month? Yeah, this is monthly, yeah. He was just 14 when he started his YouTube channel ` Hey, guys. Welcome along to another Photoshop tutorial. ...a 'how to' on Photoshop and editing programmes. < Ah, now let's change the colour just to a lighter grey with that same colour box there. And the subscribers came flocking. 27,000 subscribers, 3.5 million views, and I'm also in the second top gurus for NZ. How does that match your theme? Still with a year and a half of high school left, he's got big plans for his YouTube channel. 10 million video views would be pretty good. And then 50,000 subscribers is my goal. What would that make your payments? What would that make your payments? Probably, like, you could almost live off of that. You're saying YouTube could become your career? Yes, it could. People already have YouTube as their career. I stumbled across a YouTube channel from this character named AquuL. Meet Barry from South Carolina. It was just very Hollywood. And when I saw that, I knew that's what I wanted. What he wanted was a two-minute promotional video for his company's site. So, Barry, what did you think on your first Skype call and there was this fresh-faced 15-year-old looking back at you? That was kind of funny because I assumed he must have been a college graduate and he must have had experience. And finally I just said to him ` I said, 'Corey, how old are you?' He told me, well, he was 16, and then he confided that, well, he would be 16 in a few months. And it was really funny. It didn't bother me, though, because he has the talent, he's got this ability. And I actually think it's pretty cool I'm working with a 15-year-old. And for Corey, that two-minute video was the same pay as six weeks in his part-time job. How much longer will you need to be a dishwasher? I probably won't need it for too much longer. How does that feel? How does that feel? It's pretty good. # Is this the real life? # Hoping to make a real-life success story out of YouTube is Matt Mulholland. Igniting his passion for comedy... # Cos baby, you're a firework... # ...and music, he's saying... # Fuck you... # ...to a 9-to-5 office job. < Is that your general philosophy on things? Yeah, kind of just to do what I want to do, basically, is a life goal. Yeah. (CHUCKLES) And at just 23, he's well on the way. You've got 11,463,192 views. Awesome. (CHUCKLES) Never, like, heard that number set out like that before. It's pretty cool. Matt uses his God-given talent... (SCREAMS) ...to reach the heights of YouTube notoriety that he has. I just take every part of a tune... # Used to be greying tower alone on the sea. # ...and then you just sing it. So just recreate, like, the drums, the bass or the guitar part with my voice, and then, kind of, do that to each part and just make a whole song out of it. On average, how long does it take you to do a song? If it's an easy song, I can do it in a day, but if it's a hard song it'll take me, like, a week, depending on, you know, the difficulty. In the States, there are guys making hundreds of thousands of dollars off YouTube. Are you anywhere close? No. (LAUGHS) Not yet, no. Not even close. Um, but at some point, it's gonna happen. How far down do we need to go? If they were, like, flying, like, 747s, I would be probably on one wheel of a scooter, I think, is probably a good analogy. (LAUGHS) But I've got a goal, a vision of the future, where I can buy McDonalds for lunch and stuff. And when you buy that McDonalds, one day you'll be able to get the sundae too. One day, I can upsize that. Boo-yah. # ...on the grave. # Like his latest Seal rendition, the problem Matt faces ` most of his songs are covers. He doesn't own the copyright, so he can't make money off them. Action. As far as my views go, it's probably closer to 90% of my views come from my covers. Um, so that's what people... obviously it's what they wanna see. I come along and then do a power run and it's just a 'boom!' But there's a company in the US that's been in contact with Matt. It's offering to do a deal with record labels so people like Matt could get a cut from all their covers. So theoretically if this happens, then I could be making... it could be my job. Like, I could live off it quite, you know, happily. Like, I could live off it quite, you know, happily. Is that exciting for you? Very exciting, yeah. (CHUCKLES) # Ooh, the more I get of you, the stranger it feels... So his take on the famous Batman soundtrack... # Now that your rose is in bloom... # ...the light hits on the... # ...will graduate from playground to pay cheque. And with his naked ambition realised, we can be sure we'll all be exposed to much more of Matt Mulholland in the future. I mean, what are the limits here? I mean, what are the limits here? I don't know. The limits are endless, I guess. And when you look at a lot of people that have been picked up and shot straight into movies, uh, you know, record deals just from YouTube stuff. With YouTube, I don't even know where it's gonna go, but I'll just keep trucking along, upload my videos and see where it takes me. Yeah, YouTube is definitely a lot easier than scrubbing dishes. Anything can happen, really. # ...on the # grave. # Awesome stuff. Next on 20/20, the first of three billionaires ` Guy Laliberte. He started as a street performer and is now the ringleader of the world's biggest circus. Guy owns an island in French Polynesia, a sailboat and five houses. He has five children, including two with his partner, former model Claudia Barilla. No marriage? Why not? Why not? You know, they ask you to say some words and they make you promise things when you get married. It would be a lie, so... (CHUCKLES) 1 Welcome back. If you wanna get rich, this next lot are worth listening to. They are three unique and surprisingly different billionaires who tell their stories of how they made it and now how they give back. You might wanna take notes here, cos they reckon they've got some real tips on how you can get on that road to huge success too. First up, he started off as a street performer, and now he owns the biggest show in town ` Cirque du Soleil. MICHAEL JACKSON'S 'BLACK OR WHITE' It was the music of Michael Jackson paired with the magic of Cirque du Soleil. APPLAUSE Cirque du Soleil's legendary creator Guy Laliberte is adding the touches of genius that have made him the most successful circus impresario working today. Thank you, everybody. A psychedelic Barnum and Bailey with a personal worth of over 2.5 billion. Growing up near Quebec City, Canada, he was restless and wanted to see the world, so he left home at 16 with his father's accordion to play for money on the street, and he earned enough for a plane ticket to London. I went there with $50 in my pocket, and I spent my first night in London on a bench. Every time now I go in London, I take a room where I have a view on this bench. Hanging out with fellow street performers, he learned to walk on stilts and even breathe fire. And he returned home to Canada with an idea. There was an old dream of mine among the street performing community of Quebec about doing your own circus, I decided to give a shot at it. Out went the ringmaster and the performing animals, and in came jaw-dropping displays of agility, dance and theatre. Cirque du Soleil was well received in Quebec, but Guy knew he had to take risks to be really successful. I knew that to survive with Cirque du Soleil, had to export it out of Canada. You took Cirque du Soleil to California. Yes, 1987. Yes, 1987. And that was a huge risk. We basically took our last penny, put everything the train and truck, sent it to LA. If we didn't succeed there, we probably had no money to bring back to Quebec, back in Canada. So it was basically live or die in LA. Guy convinced Thomas Schumacher, then director of the 1987 Los Angeles Arts Festival, to give his circus a chance. He exuded such confidence. Man, woman or mule would fall for Guy Laliberte. He could charm anybody. At the time, no one understood this ` the whole 'nouvelle cirque' idea. I mean, it was just brilliant. Guy's high-wired gamble paid off. Cirque du Soleil was a hit. Over almost three decades, he has produced shows with endless variety. Zumanity,... SULTRY MUSIC ...Viva Elvis,... # My blue suede shoes. # ...and the Beatles' Love. # All you need is love. # # Love. Love is all you need. # What you have is awesome. What you have is awesome. Totally. I have the best job in the world. Every new show begins here in Montreal, at the 80-acre campus for Cirque's 500 employees and performers. It's an incubator for creativity, with the circuses being reinvented daily. We have artists come in from over 50 countries all over the world. We are a microcosm of this planet. There is an artist dormitory and a practice gym. Get up there. Let me see what you do. You create` Get up there. Let me see what you do. You create` I can't do it any more. The costume shop is the biggest in the world. More than 400 artisans working daily to create costumes, masks, wigs and shoes. And Guy loves to travel into new frontiers. Two years ago as a 50th birthday present to himself, he paid $35m to become the seventh tourist to go into space, spending nine days at the International Space Station. Bye-bye, everybody. I need a personal challenge, and I need to get back to that feeling when I was on the street of total feeling of freedom. Is it true that you put a red nose on like a clown? Is it true that you put a red nose on like a clown? Actually, yes. A clown nose when you went out on stage? A clown nose when you went out on stage? 'A clown, yeah.' Peace. You're a billionaire. Ah, on paper, you know. Ah, on paper, you know. OK, but you are. What do you spend the money on? Uh, most of it reinvesting in Cirque du Soleil. I give a lot of money to charities. He himself give millions to help provide clean water in developing countries through what he has called his One Drop Foundation. I believe your generation will make a difference. Guy owns an island in French Polynesia, a sailboat and five houses. He has five children, including two with his partner, former model Claudia Barilla. No marriage. Why not? Why not? You know, they ask you to say some words and then make` promise things when you get married. It would be a lie, so... (CHUCKLES) I don't want to sign up with something I don't want to do. I was just gonna say, I hope the person you're living with isn't listening. Oh no, no, no. She does. She knows. She knows my philosophy. Oh no, no, no. She does. She knows. She knows my philosophy. She knows 'no marriage'. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Do you still take risks? Yeah, yeah. Do you still take risks? Yeah, every day. One of the risks that you take ` you love to play poker. I don't constitute that as taking a risk. Reportedly, Guy has won over $7m in the last five years playing high-stakes poker. You do not show emotion. You do not show emotion. (CHUCKLES) You do not show emotion. (CHUCKLES) Show me your poker face. Ooh, you're scary. That's a scary face. Ooh, you're scary. That's a scary face. That was a short one. He also has the distinction of losing the most money in a single hand of poker ` $815,000 Part of the risk-taking personality is the ability to overcome failure. Most of us would go home and cry, probably for many days. Guy just shakes it off. One of the things that makes billionaires successful is their reaction to failure. You're a man who followed his dreams. You're a man who followed his dreams. Yes. The kid who started on the streets. And now you are letting other people dream by coming to your Cirque du Soleil. # Billie Jean is not my lover. # Everything we do here is to entertain at Cirque du Soleil. We make people forget their problems for a couple of hours, and this great. It's good for the soul. Next on 20/20 ` Lynn Tilton isn't your average solo mum; she's brash, ballsy, and a billionaire. At 52 years old, Lynn is a combination of Lady Gaga and Warren Buffett. She is the owner of 75 companies ` more than any woman in America and probably anywhere else. Together, these companies generate over $8b a year in revenue. Lynn sent one of her helicopters to take me in billionaire style to her secluded mansion on the New Jersey shore. 1 Welcome back. Lynn Tilton is a woman on a mission ` a mission to create jobs. She's driven by the memory of growing up without and has built a billion-dollar empire with her own hands. She lives a life of luxury, but has never forgotten where she came from or forgotten those still on struggle street. Thank you, everybody, for being here. Don't be fooled by the platinum blonde hair, the tight jeans or the paintbrush. Lynn Tilton is on a very short list of self-made female billionaires. A woman's work is never done. Do you know that? For the workers at this bankrupt pulp and paper factory in Gorham, New Hampshire, she is a local hero. Thank you for giving us a second chance. Lynn Tilton specialises in buying companies in jeopardy, restructuring, getting rid of what doesn't work and finding new ways to make them profitable. We're thrilled to have you here. Over 11 years she has saved dozens of failing companies, many with familiar names ` Spiegel Catalogues, Rand McNally and Stila Cosmetics. But this is about more than money. Lynn Tilton is on a personal mission to save American jobs. Thank you for making me remember why I get up each day to do what we do. UPBEAT VIOLIN MUSIC At 52 years old, Lynn is a combination of Lady Gaga and Warren Buffett. She is the owner of 75 companies, more than any woman in America and probably anywhere else. Together, these companies generate over $8b a year in revenue. Lynn sent one of her helicopters to take me in billionaire style to her secluded mansion on the New Jersey shore. Lynn, you are what I would describe as a piece of work. Would you tell me what you are wearing? Um, I'm a Gucci girl today. Um, I'm a Gucci girl today. Little miniskirt. Yeah, you know, I like my skirts short. Yeah. And, uh, the jewellery? Yeah. And, uh, the jewellery? Uh, Cartier. Do you worry about the impression you give? > I think I do it on purpose to some extent. That's sort of my 'dust to diamonds' persona. You know, I like to say that we buy companies when they're dust and we turn them to diamond. That drive to do good was instilled in her buy her parents at an early age. growing up in Teaneck, New Jersey. She was very close to her father, who taught high school math. But while Lynn was a sophomore at Yale University, her father passed away. It was devastating. Lynn took on the burden of caring for her mother and brother. I needed to be grown up immediately. I wanted to heal everybody. But the stress, Lynn says, ended her marriage. At 23 years old, with an infant daughter, she started a career in Wall Street working 15 hours a day. My 20s were so difficult and so dark that I only remember them in shadowy details. Because I lived in fear every day. Because I lived in fear every day. Of what? Fear of not being able to keep my job and take care of my child, fear of being a failure. But after 19 years, she said the macho mentality of Wall Street became too much. She sued Merrill Lynch for sexual harassment and settled. I was so beaten down by that experience that I wasn't sure I'd be able to stand up again and get back out into the world. She had saved enough to retire, but before walking away, Lynn sent a final Christmas card to some of her clients. For many years I had men asking me on the phone each day what I was wearing and what colour my underwear was. And so I decided to give my top 10 customers a gift of showing them what my underwear looked like. And so I sent out a Christmas card with me in a red lace sort of teddy and red cowboy boots and a Santa hat, wishing them a merry Christmas. Tilton's plan was to spend the rest of her life far, far away from Wall Street. What happened that brought you back? I had a dream with my father, who told me that wasn't what he'd had in mind for me. We were raised to give back to the world. We were raised to give back to the world. What was the calling? To save people from what I suffered when we lost a working parent ` the crumbling of a family. That for every job I could save, that was a family that could be kept together. And so I've tried to, at least in later life, make my father proud. In December of 2000, Lynn returned to New York to launch Patriot Partners, named in honour of her father. We are in 14 different industries ` helicopters, fire trucks and trucks, make-up companies, clothing companies. The only thing they have in common is that nobody else wanted them. She takes a personal interest in the daily operation, criss-crossing the country. A typical week would have Lynn flying between New York, Arkansas, Los Angeles and Georgia, making a start at MD Helicopters in Phoenix, a company she brought out of bankruptcy and into a long-term contract with military helicopters. This intense focus on work leaves little time for relaxation in one of her four homes, Lake Como in Italy, on the beach in Florida, in Phoenix Arizona and here in New Jersey. She hasn't remarried. She lives alone. We are sitting in this beautiful, lavish house with a gorgeous view. What are your extravagances? Um, you know, I'm not extravagant for someone of my wealth. I love beautiful jewellery, I have a great wardrobe. No kidding. And shoes ` four closets full. 500 pair all categorised with photos. In addition to four closets, what's this? Current season. Gotta get the new stuff out so I wear it. Her clothing is organised by designer. Gucci on one side, Cavalli on the other. Gucci on one side, Cavalli on the other. Show me something new. This is my new black-tie dress for this season. How much? How much? $12,500 But success has come at a price. Tilton has a reputation for ruthlessness. It has also been said that you scream ` especially at men ` that you all but castrate them. I think I'm tough on everybody. Perhaps I'm more difficult on men, but I speak the truth. And that means that some people don't want to hear exactly where they stand. Welcome, welcome. 'And so when my management teams come into the room, I hug them.' I'll give you a hug, even. You may not deserve it. I' give them truth and harsh speak when they're in.' Like I said, you can talk about it or you can do it. 'And then I hug them on the way out.' Let's talk about jobs in this country. Are you worried about it? It's what I think about most, and it's what drives me every day. We must create jobs in this country or we will have violence in the streets of America. What advice would you give to someone young, starting out, if they say, 'I want to be a billionaire one day.' I would say, 'Don't do what you do for the money. Do` Whatever path you choose, 'do it because it makes your heart beat fast, cos success comes from following your passion.' Let's make this a fairy tale. Thank you. Let's make this a fairy tale. Thank you. CHEERING Gosh, and she reckons she's not extravagant. (CHUCKLES) Next on 20/20 ` life couldn't be any better for John Paul DeJoria, but it hasn't always been that way. 30 years ago, he was homeless. Now DeJoria has amassed a $4.2b fortune. And not only has this visionary built two iconic companies; he is also renowned for his giving back. And if John Paul DeJoria looks vaguely familiar, you might have seen him in one of those ads for his shampoo, with his glamorous wife Eloise, a former Playboy model. 1 Welcome back. John Paul Dejoria has the perfect life and the perfect wife, he has built two brands to the billion-dollar mark, owns several mansions, but used to live in the back of a broken-down car with his 2-year-old son. This rags-to-riches story has had many beneficiaries, as Paul and his wife have given millions back through their charity work. Barbara Walters meets the man behind the billions. FUNKY MUSIC It has been a long road for Jean Paul DeJoria. But through sheer grit and determination, he has landed on top. 30 years ago, he was homeless. Now DeJoria has amassed a $4.2b fortune. And not only has this visionary built two iconic companies, he is also renowned for his giving back. And if John Paul DeJoria looks vaguely familiar, you might have seen him in one of those ads for his shampoo. with his glamorous wife, Eloise, a former Playboy model. What is the best part of being a billionaire? I can make some major changes that affect the entire world for the economy and for ecology as well as for humanity. For DeJoria, his billionaire life is worlds away from he home in East Los Angeles where he grew up. The very very last one. It was all grass in front. His father left when Jean Paul was 2, and he and his brother lived in a foster home during the week, while their mother worked, seeing her only on weekends. What does this do to a child, and how does it affect the man I'm talking to today? My mom was so loving to us that we didn't think there was anything wrong with it. But as a teenager, DeJoria roamed the streets with LA gangs. You mean you were not exactly a good kid? We thought we were bad kids, but we weren't. We had push-button knives, but we never stabbed anybody or never killed anybody. but we never stabbed anybody or never killed anybody. Great, thanks a lot (!) After school, DeJoria joined the navy, then back home he drifted from job to job. I sold encyclopaedias door to door for Colliers. I sold life insurance, I sold medical equipment, I sold dictating equipment, photocopy equipment. You have said that rejection ` and you certainly were rejected ` is part of being successful. You knock on a door 50 times, they slam it in your face. Be as enthusiastic on door number 51 as you were the very first door. Successful people, Barbara, do all the things unsuccessful people don't want to do, like stay enthusiastic when you keep on getting rejected. At the age of 20, DeJoria got married and had a son, but his life quickly unravelled. My wife decided she didn't want to be a mom. She took off with the car, the money, left my 2 and a half year old son there. Where did you live? I got a hold of a friend of mine who I knew had an old car that didn't run, and that was our home for a couple of months. and that was our home for a couple of months. You lived in a car with your son. I stayed in the front seat; he stayed in the backseat. In the 1970s, DeJoria landed a series of jobs in the haircare industry and quickly rose to management. But he never quite fit into their corporate culture. At one point, you were fired from three different jobs in the hair industry. There are no coincidences. It was meant to be for me to be fired to learn these various things that I really needed to start the company. He teamed up with a hairdresser called Paul Mitchell, whom he met at a trade show. And together they came up with a new high quality shampoo and conditioner. You and Paul Mitchell raised 300 and some odd dollars each. $350. He was on his last money too. And we decided we're gonna start the company. What was so great about your shampoo? Our shampoo you only had to use once instead of twice. So for a hairdresser, saves time and money. DeJoria began knocking on doors again, this time persuading salons to sell his own innovative product. So with $700 you made millions. Yeah, many millions. Yes. Yeah, many millions. Yes. No more homeless in the car. No more homeless. Don't have to go back there any more. Jean Paul Mitchell Systems became the largest privately held beauty company in the world. Tragically in 1989, Paul Mitchell died of pancreatic cancer. DeJoria went on to run the company himself, and soon after, he would hit the jackpot again. The finest tequila in the world. We thought the world needed an ultra premium tequila, and we were right. But John's spirit has gone on to become even more successful than Paul Mitchell products. His tequila is not only filling shot glasses, it also happens to fill DeJoria's motorcycle tank. People say, 'Is that really Patron you're pouring in there?' I promise you it is. Uh, 20 years we've been together. Uh, 20 years we've been together. Can we bring in Eloise? Please. Please. OK. Eloise. How nice to see you. How nice to see you. Thank you, Barbara. How nice to see you. Thank you, Barbara. How did he propose? He sent 1300 red roses to my little apartment. 1300 roses There was two truckloads. I thought, 'Wow, should I just open a flower shop?' John Paul and Eloise spend most of their time at their home in Austin, Texas. They live here with their 14-year-old son John Anthony, and they employ a full-time five-star chef. And John Paul DeJoria gave us a tour of his luxurious villa in Malibu. With his sweeping staircase, 2000-year-old floor tiles that once adorned a Roman palace and ornate murals of DeJoria and his family looking down from above. I like to live well, and I feel good about it because I know how much we give back. There's plenty for my family; now let's take care of the rest. And if there's anything that defines Jean Paul DeJoria, it is his philanthropy. My philosophy in life is that success unshared is failure. DeJoria often stops by the Los Angeles boys and girls club he went to as a child and is now paying for a full renovation. He also has his hand in the Chrysalis Centre, helping the homeless find jobs. President Obama is trying to have a job programme. Give me your advice on what he could do. Don't throw money out there to create a job programme; go out there and do something with the people that physically gives them a job. And DeJoria is doing exactly that, with his Go Appalachia organisation fighting poverty. They have taught over 7000 people how to cultivate, cook and can their own fruits and vegetables. So, you don't believe in giving food stamps, in giving money; you believe in giving the tools. People don't want charity; people want to be able to take care of themselves. It makes them proud. How do you feel about the rich being taxed more? If I knew the money went to a good cause, I'd be behind it 1000%. If the money went into the bureaucracy of our country, I would stand up and say, 'Don't do it. Let me give my money to people where something's gonna change.' Next to you is a bottle of tequila and three glasses. Next to you is a bottle of tequila and three glasses. Yes. We're three people. We're three people. Yes. We're three people. Yes. Is there a reason for this? Nothing like the world's number-one tequila. Nothing like a man who markets until the end of the interview. Nothing like a man who markets until the end of the interview. But it is. To you. To giving back. To giving back. To giving back. Thank you. Next up on 20/20 ` so you've set up your own YouTube channel and made a billion dollars; what are you gonna do with all that money? How about buying a boat? Mega yachts like this cost well over $150m. With millions more in upkeep. With lavish interiors, massage rooms and on-board garage with boats, jet skis, even mini-submarines. 1 Welcome back. Having followed the lead of the billionaires on the show tonight, you've got money burning a hole in your pocket, right? So what do you spend it on? Well, we take a peek at the lifestyles of the mega wealthy to get a few ideas. Mega mansions, mega diamonds and mega yachts. For today's billionaire, size really does matter. The average size of a yacht today has more than doubled. Robert Frank is the author of High-Beta Rich. It used to be you thought you were fairly special with a 150ft yacht. Today, one guy told me it was like owning a dinghy. 200ft, 300ft even 400ft is now common among today's billionaires. We're talking the size of a football field. Mega yachts like this cost well over $150m, with millions more in upkeep, with lavish interiors, massage rooms, and an on-board garage with boats, jet skis, even mini submarines. Everyone is pushing boundaries. Jonathan Beckett is CEO of Burgess Yachts, one of the world's top superyacht brokers. I was on board a boat recently, and it had a snow room, and they were making snow so that you can come straight out of the sauna and jump into the snow. Clouds are always looking to produce something that creates a buzz on the water. What is creating the biggest buzz in the yacht world today is this 560ft superyacht, Eclipse, owned by a Russian billionaire, Roman Abramovich. The length of almost two football fields, it has its own missile defence system and is rumoured to have cost $1b. Abramovich is part of an exclusive club that is getting less exclusive each year, especially in the United States, where in 1985 there were just 15 billionaires. Today there are more than 400. Forbes magazine compiles an annual list. This year you have at least $1.05b, so there are actually some billionaires who didn't make it into the Forbes 400 this year. The rich are getting richer. Never before in American history have so many Americans become so wealthy so quickly. The ultimate in billionaire bling is calling the shots with your own sports team. You're killing us, Joey. Billionaire Mark Cuban bought the Dallas Mavericks for 285 million. But for some billionaires, one sports team is just not enough. Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen dropped 65 million to buy the Portland Trailblazers and another 197 million for the Seattle Seahawks. Touchdown, Seahawks. Sometimes billionaires just spend and buy something to show that they can. I was interviewing a man in Florida who built what was going to be the largest house in the country. It was over 90,000ft2. And I asked him why, and he said, 'Because I can.' Billionaire hedge fund manager Ira Rennert built himself this $180m mansion in Long Island with 29 bedrooms and a basketball court ` the most expensive home in the country, shocking even the wealthy Hampton elite. With a price tag close to $1b, this strange-looking 27-floor private residence is the most expensive home in the world. It's built by India's richest man, Mukesh Ambani for his family. But it's not just outsized yachts and homes. To really keep up with the billionaire Joneses, you must have art ` art with outsized prices. This painting by Willem de Kooning was sold privately for more than $130m. Most people look at a painting look at a painting and say, 'How could that ever be worth $130m?' And the reason is that there are two billionaire who really want it. 87 million. 88 million. What's become harder and harder for today's billionaires is to really stand out. I have $90m. So they're all competing for attention and status, and as a result the prices just go up and up and up. This Picasso is the most expensive painting ever sold at auction. Nick, you're better at $95m. And the bidding took just nine minutes. Righto. If you wanna see any of tonight's stories again, head to our website. It's tvnz.co.nz/20-20 You can also email us, at 20-20@tvnz.co.nz or go to our Facebook page ` we're at 20/20 NZ ` and let us know your thoughts on tonight's show. Thanks for your feedback over the past week. We're interested in your stories,